Gai-Jin

Plan on a lot of time for listening to this three-part set, containing a total of 35 ninety-minute cassettes. Continuing Clavell's saga of the Struan Noble House of Trading in the Far East, GAI-JIN chronicles young Malcolm Struan's attempt to establish himself as tai-pan after his father's death. During the process, the young leader must navigate the treacherous waters of 1860s Japanese politics and his mother's disapproval of his choice of a bride. John Lee keeps the story moving on more than 50 hours of narrative. He captures multinational male and female characters and keeps dozens of players straight. Without his superior skill, the book would sink into the South China Sea. With it, the story sails right through to the final tape. R.P.L. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

March 29, 1993
Clavell is in top-notch form in this sequel to Tai-pan , the second novel in what will be the Shogun quartet. In another monumental panorama of historic Asia, he again melds plot-driven storytelling and colorful characterization in vibrant collaboration with an exotic, dynamic setting. In 1862, as Japan slowly opens its doors to foreigners, or gai-jin , 20-year-old Mark Struan--grandson of Dirk Struan, founder of the Noble House commercial dynasty--is horseback-riding in Yokohama with other young Westerners, including beautiful Angelique Richaud, ward of the French Minister. In a brutal attack on their party, samurai bodyguards of Sanjiro, Daimyo of Satsuma, kill a young trader and grievously injure Struan. That night, as envoys of various nations try to discern why the Japanese would provoke an international incident, a ninja assassin sent to silence the attack's three survivors rapes the sedated Angelique but, smitten, fails to carry out his sacred duty. Struan rallies and begs Angelique to marry him; for her own purposes, she agrees but later realizes she must secretly terminate the pregnancy that resulted from the rape. She enlists the help of a syphilitic French trader and spy and thus enmires herself in blackmail. From his sickbed, Struan must salvage trade negotiations with Japan and save Noble House. Diplomatic intrigue, arms dealing, opium addiction and a riveting power struggle among Japanese warlords give additional weight to this sometimes implausible but unceasingly satisfying epic-length tome. Literary Guild main selection; major ad/promo.